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Postgraduate Research Support Scheme
The Postgraduate Research Support Scheme (PRSS) provides University funding to attend conferences, support your fieldwork or specialist services.
- Overview and funding
- Eligibility requirements
- How to apply
Overview and funding
PRSS applications for the main round typically open around April or May for about 3 - 4 weeks. The website will be updated ahead of this to reflect any changes for this year and current students will be notified once the application window opens.
Postgraduate Research Support Scheme (PRSS) is a scheme introduced by the University in 2001 to provide direct support for currently enrolled postgraduate research students. The scheme distributes $1.5 million in funding.
Under the scheme, eligible students can apply for funding to their relevant school or faculty and are notified of the outcome after a ranking process has been completed. Selection committees will consider the quality of an applicant's research progress relative to opportunity and stage of candidature, demonstrated need for funding, and priorities, if any, placed on the different expenditure categories by the faculty or school.
Faculties and schools participating in Round 2
- Sydney School of Architecture, Design and Planning
- Faculty of Engineering
- School of Aerospace, Mechanical and Mechatronic Engineering (AMME)
- School of Biomedical Engineering
- School of Chemical and Biomolecular Engineering
- School of Computer Science
- School of Electrical and Information Engineering
- School of Project Management
- Faculty of Science
- School of Life and Environmental Sciences (SOLES)
- School of Mathematics and Statistics
- Sydney School of Veterinary Science
PRSS and travel
PRSS is discretionary funding and is therefore subject to the safeguarding measures developed by the University on 3 March 2020. As we have learned over the past few years, travel restrictions can occur and change frequently. These changes have important implications for travel insurance and student safety. You should ensure that any travel you wish to undertake is supported by the University and is in line with the University’s insurance arrangements. You are also responsible for ensuring you are aware of up-to-date travel advice for both domestic and international travel. Information on the University’s travel policy and requirements for travellers can be found on the Intranet.
Funding categories
Refer to your faculty or school PRSS guidelines to check whether there are any restrictions on applications for conference funding.
If you author and present, or author and are accepted to present a paper or poster related to your research, you may be eligible to apply under this category. You are not eligible to apply under this category if you attend a conference without presenting, or if you present a paper or poster you have not authored. If you select conference expenses as a funding category in your application, you will need to provide additional details. This information will be used to assess your eligibility for funding in this category.
You can obtain funding for use of specialist services, a visit to use specialist facilities or learning specialist techniques. Expenses are directly related to your research and beyond what is provided by your school or department.
You can obtain funding for field expenses related to your research. Funding cannot be used for infrastructure costs normally covered by your school or department.
Funding is available for items that are essential to your research, but which are not normally available or are difficult to obtain at the University.
You can obtain funding for equipment that is essential to your research and outside the normal infrastructure provided by your school or department. Some schools may not support requests for funding to purchase computers if these are already provided to students.
You can apply provided you do not hold a Research Training Program (RTP) scholarship and will submit your thesis in the same calendar year as the current PRSS round. Printing costs will not be covered, as your thesis is submitted electronically.
Funding available
You are only eligible to receive a maximum of $3500 per year in PRSS funding. Applications may be submitted for funding across one or more of the funding categories described above. You should refer to your faculty or school PRSS guidelines to check their restrictions on the number of categories you may apply for in one application.
Last updated: 31 January 2023
